


All the Bright Places

by simplyn2deep, the_problem_with_stardust



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, M/M, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-15 16:27:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15416961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplyn2deep/pseuds/simplyn2deep, https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_problem_with_stardust/pseuds/the_problem_with_stardust
Summary: “So we’re really doing this?” Stiles said when he joined Derek in their bedroom. “A month in New York?”Derek gave a hesitant nod. “I think so…if that’s what you want to do.”Stiles lunges for Derek and tackles him on the bed in a hug, “Yes!” He exclaims. “I want to! So fucking much!”





	All the Bright Places

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the [sterek reversebang](https://sterekreversebang.tumblr.com) on tumblr. Artwork by the wonderful [theproblemwithstardust](http://theproblemwithstardust.tumblr.com) on tumblr and can be found [here](https://theproblemwithstardust.tumblr.com/post/176210118303/my-third-art-contribution-to-sterekreversebang) as well as embedded in the story.

+=+ PART 1 +=+  
Takes places at the Sheriff’s Department; Derek’s at work.

Derek sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew that if Stiles saw him, he’d be bugging him about going to get his eyes checked to make sure he had the correct prescription of his glasses, but he just didn’t have the time for that.

Between the big case they were working on and learning about some new system that Parrish had just finished training on and was currently trying to explain to him, Derek barely had time to think let alone make a doctor’s appointment.

His eyes were fine. He just needed to take a break from focusing on the tiny print of this file and trying to make out the chicken scratch notes from one of the detectives he was working with.

‘This detective can kiss my…’ Derek thought to himself as he tossed the papers to the side.

“Taking a break, Jordan,” Derek called out as he pushed his chair back, stood up and stretched until his back gave a satisfying crack and pop.

Parrish nodded his head, not looking up from what he was doing. “You’re due for one anyway. Take 30 minutes and I’ll let the boss know.”

“Thanks. Just enough for a coffee and power nap,” Derek replied as he picked up the near empty and definitely cold cup of coffee from his desk.

He maneuvered around some chairs and desks before making his way to the back break room. Even though Jordan told him to take a 30-minute break, he knew the man would likely let him sleep closer to an hour if they were having a slow time in the office, but Derek still set the alarm on his phone for 25 minutes and made a mental note to freshen up in the bathroom.

+=+

“You’re due for a vacation,” the Sheriff had told him. There was a couple of hours left in his shift and the room was still buzzing with excitement after confirming they indeed had the missing pieces to the case they were working on.

And it was a big, for Beacon Hills that is, case involving Beacon County and a neighboring county. Not only did the case span two counties, but it took several months to work on. Several months of long nights away from Stiles for Derek and long nights away from Melissa for John.

“Stiles is almost done with the semester, so the two of you should get away for a bit.”

“Sir?” Derek questioned as he put down his pen and looked at his boss. “I just came back from vacation.”

John laughed some and shook his head. “Those three days off do not count. Plus, that was last year.”

Derek gave a confused look as he thought over what he was told and sighed. He knew John was right.

“I’m not saying you have to take it now, but this summer would be a good time to take Stiles and go to New York for a few weeks, or to see Cora in South America.”

Derek mulled it over and nodded again. “Okay, I’ll think about it after finishing this up, Sheriff.”

“Like I said, no rush on it, but you deserve it,” John replied as he placed his hand on Derek’s shoulder and gave a light squeeze before dropping his hand and going to his office.

+=+

Derek worked for a few more hours on various case reports before packing everything in their respective folders and placing them in the open drawers of his desk.

“Heading out for the night?” Parrish asked as he walked from the break room and saw Derek’s movements.

“More like morning,” Derek said. “It’s already three and I should have been home at least four hours ago. Stiles has probably eaten all the pizza I know he’s ordered.”

Parrish laughed. He knew all about Stiles eating habits, having joined them for dinner a couple times a month at the Sheriff’s house.

“That you are right about,” Parrish said in agreement. “Go home and get some sleep. I’ll make sure the Old Man is on his way out too.”

Derek nodded his thanks and gathered his belongings. “I’ll see you in ten hours.”

Parrish gave a two finger salute and continued to his desk.

+=+

Derek was tired. Deep to his bones tired. The kind of tired that he hadn’t felt since he and Laura lost their world when his family was murdered. But every morning he got up for work, put on his tan deputy sheriff uniform and kissed Stiles goodbye before driving to the station. He was putting in ten plus hours a day, sometimes overtime to cover for co-workers who had families with young children. Then lather, rinse, repeat for the last four months.

‘Maybe John was right,’ Derek thought to himself as exited the station and walked to his car. He couldn’t remember the last time he was able to sleep, uninterrupted, for more than a few hours. ‘Maybe tonight would be different. Ten hours of sleep would be great.’ He further thought as he climbed into his car.

In the twenty minutes it took for Derek to drive from the station to the house he and Stiles shared, Derek thought more and more about what John said. The idea of getting away for a few weeks did appeal to him and it had been a few years since he last saw Cora…

‘Maybe…,’ he thought. ‘Yeah…maybe.’

There was more conviction with that thought, he admitted to himself. But it couldn’t think about it anymore. He was pulling into his driveway and shutting off the engine. From the car, he could see the faint light from the lamp left on in the room Stiles claimed for his office and no doubt, further back in the house where their actual bedroom was, would be the startup menu music to whatever movie Stiles fell asleep listening to.

Derek opened the car door, pulled the keys out of the ignition and got out, making sure to take the jacket, reusable tote/ lunch bag Cora sent him and closed the door. As if on autopilot, he made his way to the house, fumbled with his keys for a bit before finding the right one to open the door.

“Hi, Missy…,” Derek said in greeting to the tortoiseshell cat that was making herself known by rubbing against his legs. He closed and locked the door behind him, dropped the keys on the side table next to Stiles’ and made his way to the back rooms.

On the way there, he stopped in the kitchen to make sure Missy had fresh water in her bowl and continued to the back of the house where the bedrooms where. Derek stopped in the first room, Stiles’ office with the light on, and deposited his gun in the safe, locked it back up, turned off the light and walked to the room.

When he got to the room, he laughed at the sight before him. Sure enough, Stiles was asleep and on the laptop screen was the menu for a History Channel documentary on Greek Mythology and a few of Stiles’ textbooks and notebooks. Derek collected Stiles’ school work and placed it on the floor on his side of the bed before stripping down to his boxers and carefully getting into bed with his sleeping boyfriend.

+=+[](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/simplyn2deep/11074483/261628/261628_original.jpg)+=+

Stiles waited for Derek to get comfortable before sighing and shifting closer to him. “You’re home really late,” he mumbled into Derek’s shoulder.

“Sorry, babe,” Derek whispered as he turned his head and softly kissed Stiles’ forehead. “Got caught up in paperwork and talking with your dad.”

“It’s okay,” Stiles continued to mumble. He was more awake than he was moments before, but still more asleep. “I got a lot of work done and I’ve been emailing with a department head at The Met.”

Derek gave a humming sound, partly so that Stiles knew he was listening and partly because his body was relaxing with the heavy weight of his boyfriend against his arm. “That’s great. Tell me about it in the morning, babe.”

+=+ PART 2 +=+  
Takes places at Derek and Stiles’ home at the same time as Derek is at work.

Stiles’ night at home started out like it usually did after spending several hours in a too quiet university library, followed by a 90-minute drive home. He dropped his bag by the front door, fed their cat Missy and made himself a snack.

“I wish I had your life, Missy,” Stiles grumbled as he watched the cat for a bit before going back to get his bag and go to his office. He still had more work to do and there was a new email from his academic advisor and a department head at the Met waiting for him.

After working in his office, which absolutely did not involve a Wikipedia spiral and trying to determine which Greek god his friends would be, Stiles went to the kitchen to start on dinner. He knew that since he hadn’t heard from Derek and that it was already 8 pm that his boyfriend wasn’t going to be home any time soon. He decided on leftover lasagna and the last of the pizza rolls.

He took his food to the bedroom, put the plate on the bed and went back to his office for his laptop. He still needed to read and reply to the two emails, but he was nervous, hence the overeating that would likely lead to heartburn and a hard time sleeping.

At the moment, that didn’t matter. He needed food to fuel him for the night. He had to get through a couple of documentaries on Netflix for a paper he was writing and he still had to reply to the emails.

Grabbing the laptop, Stiles went back to the bedroom, moved his food and set up his laptop on the little rolling table he had in the room for times like these and moved it to the bed.

Making sure he was comfortable and had his notebooks, pens, and textbooks, Stiles started up the first documentary. Clash of the Gods. He remembered watching it when it first aired on the History Channel and was very interested in it, but it had been nearly ten years since he saw it. His favorite episodes were on Beowulf and Tolkien’s Monsters but they were later in the series, so he had a ways to go before getting to their stories.

Over a two hour period, Stiles picked through the ten-episode show taking notes on what he needed, and then went back to the beginning to pay more attention before, hopefully, repeating the process a second time to make sure he covered everything he needed.

In between that, he read over the emails from his advisor and the Met department head and had to contain his excitement. He was being offered the chance to spend a month researching and working at the Met in the Egyptian art department. It wasn’t necessarily what he was working on at the moment, but he couldn’t pass up this opportunity. Stiles replied to the emails requesting more information and asking when he would have to agree to everything.

At ten pm, Stiles was beginning to get tired and felt heavy from the food he’d eaten and thought it was a good time to refresh himself. He paused the documentary, took his empty plates to the kitchen and placed them in the dishwasher before going to the bathroom and ultimately back to the room.

Stiles sent a quick message to Derek like he did every night and settled in to watch the rest of the documentary. Before he knew it, likely between Odysseus: Curse of the Sean and Odysseus: Warrior’s Revenge, Stiles slipped under the covers and was conscious enough to place his phone on the nightstand before he fell completely asleep.

+=+

Sometime during the night, Stiles heard and felt Derek come home and do his nightly routine before getting into bed.

He waited for Derek to get comfortable before sighing and shifting closer to him. “You’re home really late,” he mumbled into Derek’s shoulder.

“Sorry, babe,” Derek whispered as he turned his head and softly kissed Stiles’ forehead. “Got caught up in paperwork and talking with your dad.”

“It’s okay,” he continued to mumble. Stiles was more awake than he was moments before, but still more asleep. “I got a lot of work done and I’ve been emailing with a department head at The Met.”

Derek gave a humming sound, partly so that Stiles knew he was listening and partly because his body was relaxing with the heavy weight of his boyfriend against his arm. “That’s great. Tell me about it in the morning, babe.”

The next morning, Stiles woke up to the smell of food being cooked and Derek’s side of the bed cool to the touch. Grumbling, he got out of bed, went to the bathroom to take care of business and joined Derek in the kitchen.

Derek heard Stiles moving around and prepared his coffee. Two spoons of sugar, a splash of hazelnut creamer and a cinnamon stick. By the time Stiles made it to the kitchen, the cup was sitting in its usual spot on the breakfast bar next to a bowl of freshly cut fruit.

“You’re up too early for getting home late,” Stiles remarked once he’d taken a sip of his coffee. “Great coffee as usual.”

“I got enough to wake up and make us a proper breakfast before doing the laundry and maybe a nap before going to work.”

“Look at you being all productive and adult-like,” Stiles grinned. He’d finished off his first coffee and was moving to make his second cup when Derek beat him to the punch.

“I do try,” Derek replied drily.

“I do believe you said you wanted me to tell you about the email conversations I had.”

“Yes,” Derek replied. He already turned back to working on breakfast, French toast waffles, eggs, and bacon. “Something about the Met?”

“That’s only part of it,” Stiles said. “Since the beginning of the semester, my advisor has been talking about a research or internship opportunity for his second and third-year students. The internships are all over the country for one month and there would be a lottery where 24 students are picked and offered the opportunity.”

“And you were picked?” Derek asked as he glanced over his shoulder at Stiles.

Stiles nodded as he picked at the bowl of fruit. “I was picked and offered the Met for a month this summer.”

Derek finished making the French toast waffles and turned off the stove. “That’s great, Stiles!” he turned from the stove and walked to where Stiles was to give him a hug.

Stiles was caught off guard but immediately hugged back. “But I haven’t said if I want to do it or not.”

“Why? It’s a great opportunity,” Derek said pulling back to look at Stiles.

“I don’t have a month worth of anything saved up for this,” Stiles replied. “And I can’t ask you or dad to help since you’re both covering whatever my scholarships didn’t cover.”

“Well…,” Derek began as he walked back to the stove to crack four eggs into a bowl, “your dad thinks I should take a vacation…,” Derek said as he whisked the eggs for their breakfast.

“I would agree with him,” Stiles said. “You’ve been working hard, almost as hard as I have, on that case, but what does that have to do with this?”

“We closed it…the case,” he casually mentions. “Last night before I got home. It’s why I was late.”

Stiles perked up. “That’s great, Der! I bet everyone was relieved and excited.”

Derek nodded his head. “The first whoop of Jordan’s excitement woke me from the nap I was taking. It was basically downhill from there.”

Stiles laughed. “How did dad take it?”

“Probably just as excited…then hated that he was going to have to explain it to that ‘old fogey’ the county over.”

Stiles snorted. He knew how much the department in Beacon Hills hated who they had to work with on the case.

“So about this vacation my dad mentioned…,” Stiles said.

“I have about two months of vacation time saved, but I don’t want to take it all now,” Derek replied.

“You’d go crazy with that much time off,” Stiles said in agreement.

“But I could handle a month off,” Derek added, “If we were to…I don’t know…go to New York for you to check out the Met…”

Stiles stopped what he was doing and slowly turned to look at Derek. “Really?” he asked

“If that’s really what you want to do,” Derek said with a shrug. He had already put the bowl of eggs to the side and was looking at Stiles.

Stiles bit his lip, staring at Derek. “What will you do the time that I’m working and researching?” He didn’t want Derek to get bored out of his mind and wish he was back home or doing something else.

“Catching up with friends, dragging you away from books and ancients artifacts…just like what I do now, but I won’t be waking up insanely early to go to the station for long hours of work.”

“I just don’t want you to get bored,” Stiles said, repeating what he was thinking.

Derek shook his head. “In New York? That won’t be possible. I lived there with Laura for years before I came back to Beacon Hills. I have lots of friends to catch up with and I’d love to introduce you to them and show you some of my favorite places.”

Derek could see that Stiles needed to think more about the trip, even though he knew his boyfriend really wanted the opportunity and Derek wanted that for him as well. He turned back to the food he was making with a causal, “think about it and let me know. I think it would be fun spending time in New York.”

+=+

After they’d eaten breakfast, Stiles helped clear away the dishes and promised Derek he would wash them as soon as he sent an email to his academic advisor. Derek nodded and watched Stiles walk to the room where his school things were. Minutes later, he heard the familiar sounds of video call starting up.

Grinning to himself, Derek mentally planned when the best time to travel to New York would be and that he would need to put in for a month’s time off with the Sheriff.

Derek couldn’t hear exactly what Stiles was saying, but he could hear the excitement in his boyfriend’s voice as he carried on his conversation. Putting that out of his head, he goes to the bedroom to try and clean up. He doesn’t have to go back to the station for a few more hours, so he can spend time catching up on neglected housework.

Sometime later, likely between gathering up his and Stiles’ dirty clothes and putting them in the closet and making sure he had a clean uniform, Derek heard the video call end and Stiles mumble to himself as he put the office in order.

“So we’re really doing this?” Stiles said when he joined Derek in their bedroom. “A month in New York?”

Derek gave a hesitant nod. “I think so…if that’s what you want to do.”

Stiles lunges for Derek and tackles him on the bed in a hug, “Yes!” He exclaims. “I want to! So fucking much!”

Derek laughed and hugged Stiles back. “Just let me know when you want to go so that I can put in for my time off and get our tickets.”

Stiles rolled off of Derek and propped his head on his hand looking at his boyfriend. “I’ve got it sort of figured out.”

“Okay, I’m all ears,” Derek replied, rolling on his side to face Stiles.

“Well, working backward for when I have to be back for fall semester, which is August 27, and my last day for this semester is June 4,” Stiles began. He played with the hem of Derek’s shirt.

“Okay, when would you be needed in New York?” Derek asked.

“See, that’s the thing. Their program starts the first of June and then another the first of August,” Stiles replied. “So, if I do this, I’ll either miss the first week of the fall semester or the last four days of this semester.”

“Talk it over with your professors. See if they’ll let you take your finals early or online,” Derek suggested.

Stiles grinned. “Already taken care of. Mr. Fuentes, my advisor, said that he would email them, but it wouldn’t hurt for me to ask them in person and to come up with alternatives if they are hesitant.” Stiles was gearing up and Derek couldn’t help but smile at his excitement.

“So then I got to thinking, why not cover all bases? I contacted my professors for my next classes and explained to them my situation and if necessary could I not be dropped from class for missing the first week.”

“Way to think ahead!” Derek praised. “When you hear back from everyone, let me know and I’ll put in my paperwork and see about getting us an apartment close to the Met and plane tickets.”

“You’re the best!” Stiles exclaimed as he leaned over to give Derek a kiss. “I’m going to get some other work done before making lunch for you and my dad.”

“You don’t have to,” Derek gave a mild protest. Truthfully, he loved the lunches that Stiles made for him, but he wanted his boyfriend to concentrate on his paper.

“I know I don’t have to, but it’ll be good for me to have a break so I don’t get burnt out on this paper,” Stiles replied. “I’m ahead of the game with this so I’m pacing myself. I’ve got a good month until it’s due and I’m nearly eighty percent finished.” 

Derek nodded. He knew by now how Stiles worked and when to push him to focus more on his assignments and when to help him relax.

“Well, while you do that, I’m going to finish in the kitchen and wash our clothes.”

“Have fun, boo,” Stiles called out as he got out of bed and made his way back to his office.

+=+

It took a bit of time, but their plans were ironed out. Stiles met with his professors and was given permission to take his finals online on the planned days and gave the okay for him to leave the last week of May so that he could be in New York a few days before his internship started.

With this information, Derek put in for the month of June off from the Sheriff's Department and arranged for Jordan or the Sheriff to check on his house while he was away.

"I spoke to a buddy of mine," Derek began. It was a month before they were going to leave for New York and already had their plane tickets purchased. All they had left to do was to nail down where they were going to live at while in the city for a month.

"The one getting us from the airport or the one getting us the apartment?" Stiles asked.

"Tory, the apartment guy," Derek replied. "He said he found a place, but it's 40 minutes away by public transportation. There's a second place, it's not as cheap as the first, but it's 30 minutes away."

Stiles bit his lip. He knew finding someplace for them to stay for a month was going to be the hardest part about going to New York. "Can we afford the closer one?"

"We can afford both for the month," Derek said. "I think it would be better for you if we had the one that was 30 minutes away."

Stiles nodded. "I'm okay with that. Give me the address and I can look up possible routes and everything. I want to be as familiar with the area as I can without actually being there."

Derek sent him a text message with the address. "I'll tell Tory to go ahead and put the application in and then I'll get Rob, that's the guy getting us from the airport," Stiles rolled his eyes, "to make sure he's available on May 26."

"Oh...we're spending Memorial Day with your friends in New York."

"Yeah. One last party before you have to go to work," Derek said with a laugh. "Be sure to live it up while you can."

"So long as you don't go out too much while I'm working and have a good time without me," Stiles said.

Derek pulled Stiles into the bed, "I could never have too much fun without you. Now...what time are we meeting your dad for dinner?"

"In a couple of hours," Stiles replied. "Enough time for a nap."

"Yeah...something like that," Derek added as he rolled on top of Stiles with a laugh.

~FIN~

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, giving kudos and leaving comments. I really appreciate it.
> 
> Also, thank you to the wonderful Jack, [theproblemwithstardust](http://theproblemwithstardust.tumblr.com), for the [artwork](https://theproblemwithstardust.tumblr.com/post/176210118303/my-third-art-contribution-to-sterekreversebang).


End file.
